July 18, 2011

Level 3 to Provide SIP Trunking with Nomadic E-911 for Microsoft Lync

By Anil Sharma
TMCnet Contributor

Level 3 Communications (News - Alert), Inc., a leading international provider of fiber-based communications services, is providing SIP Trunking with Nomadic E-911 for Microsoft (News - Alert) Lync.

"Enterprises expect their 911 voice services to connect them with the appropriate emergency contacts," said Warren Barkley, general manager, Microsoft Lync, in a statement.

Barkley said Microsoft Lync is able to offer enterprises the benefits of a unified communications deployment with an easy-to-manage, dynamic and reliable 911 routing solution through Level 3, even as workers change locations.

Officials with Level 3 said SIP trunking allows enterprises to converge voice and data on a single network, creating tangible network and operation expense savings while laying a foundation for next-generation communication and collaboration tools.

The solution, company officials said, takes advantage of Level 3's SIP Trunking and E-911 networks, enabling Microsoft Lync users to move throughout the workplace while still providing location-specific 911 information to the correct emergency responders.

According to company officials, Level 3's solution allows a user's location to be provided at the time of the emergency call, enabling routing to the appropriate first responders, compared to alternative nomadic 911 solutions which can only provide pre-registered locations.

This allows enterprises to garner the productivity and cost advantages of VoIP and UC while managing emergency services' calling needs.

The new solution, while using the Microsoft Lync platform, enables emergency services to receive current information on a user's location, offering workers a safe work environment, gaining compliance with safety codes and simplifying enterprise IT management.

Level 3 offers this nomadic capability for Microsoft Lync as part of its enterprise SIP trunking offering in the U.S., allowing customers to benefit from the functionality built natively into the Microsoft platform and helping avoid the need to purchase additional hardware or services.

Recently, Level 3 Communications announced that it has signed multi-year agreements with Cox (News - Alert) Communications to deliver high-speed IP and transport services, and is also expanding the capabilities made available through Level 3’s wholesale partner program that enable Cox to use and to resell Level 3’s services.

Cox will also purchase additional dark fiber to expand its backbone and support the growth of its broadband network.

Anil Sharma is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.